A wide array of convenience nets, storage trays, and other devices for stowing cargo items are available for use in vehicles. Automotive storage nets have become particularly desirable, not only to prevent damage to the stowed item(s) but to prevent the stowed item(s) from causing damage to other items which may be typically carried in a vehicle storage area, for example, a compact disk player mounted in the trunk of a car.
Conventional vehicle storage nets have a number of disadvantages. For example, some conventional vehicle storage nets and devices are permanently attached to the cargo or trunk area of a vehicle. As such, these nets and devices are not removable from the vehicle for transporting the items stowed in the devices. Instead, in order to transport the contents of a vehicle storage device to another location, the storage device must be opened and the items removed and either individually transported or loaded into another container for transportation.
Other vehicle storage devices which are removable from the vehicle are generally large, and/or complicated to attach and detach to remove and replace on a regular basis. Such conventional vehicle storage devices are often bulky, heavy, and/or cumbersome to handle. As such, conventional removable vehicle storage devices are not particularly well suited to transport the items stowed in them away from the vehicle.
Another disadvantage is that conventional vehicle storage nets often have an open portion that allows items contained within the net to become dislodged during vehicular movement or when moving items around while looking for an item or adding another item to the stowage. To address this problem, some storage devices include a closure mechanism, such as a drawstring, for closing the top of a container after items have been placed inside. While this approach solves one problem, it is disadvantageous in that successfully closing the opening of such storage devices often requires two hands to simultaneously manipulate the storage container and closure mechanism together.
Further, conventional stowage/transporting means generally have only one large compartment, which makes it difficult to transport a mixture of heavy items with more delicate or fragile items without risk of damage to the more fragile items.
Many vehicles are designed with storage compartments located between rear seats and rear access doors, for example, in a station wagon, hatch-back models, utility vehicles, sports vehicles, vans, trucks, and the like. Items stored in such a storage compartment are exposed through multiple windows to the eyes of passersby. With high visibility into vehicles of such designs, there is an increased risk that a vehicle will be broken into when items that may be stowed in the cargo area can be readily observed. To decrease this risk, various types of security shades have been adapted for covering an interior area in a motor vehicle to obstruct the view into the interior area.
Often, security shades are comprised of a flexible fabric panel wrapped onto a roller tube which is mounted to a support structure in the vehicle. The roller tube is rotationally biased so that the panel can be extended to cover the cargo compartment area and retracted onto the roller tube for storage when not in use. The shade panel is sized to cover the entire cargo area so as to screen and cover articles stowed in the cargo area from view and reduce the risk of theft. Such a roller tube, flexible panel, and retraction mechanism combination often involves a large number of components that make the security shade expensive to manufacture.
For many vehicles, security shades are mounted so that the roller tube is positioned across the forward end of the cargo area with the shade panel being extendable rearward toward the vehicle's rear cargo door. Often the security shade is positioned behind a rear seat which can be folded down to enlarge the cargo area of the vehicle. When the cargo area is enlarged by folding a seat, the security shade needs to be removed to prevent it from obstructing and limiting full use of the cargo area.
Some models of conventional vehicle security shades are removable from the vehicle. Disadvantages of such conventional security shades are that they are difficult to remove from and replace in a vehicle and are bulky to transport in the vehicle when not in use. As a result, such security shades are often left out of vehicles and not used.
While security shades generally function well to cover the rear cargo area, security shade designs have other limitations. One disadvantage with conventional security shade design is access to contents being stowed in the cargo area when the shade panel is extended. If access is required, it is difficult to gain access from within the vehicle. Rather, the vehicle must be stopped, the rear access door opened, and the shade panel completely retracted in order to uncover stowed items. After obtaining the article from the cargo area, the shade panel must be re-extended and secured and the rear access door of the vehicle closed. In addition, such a conventional security shade does not permit stowing cargo in one section of a vehicle cargo area while concealing cargo from view in another section of the cargo area.
Another conventional security cover is integral with a storage compartment having rigid walls and a hinged lid for mounting adjacent a spare tire in a vehicle cargo area. However, such a security shade/storage compartment combination is not portable.
Thus, there is a need to provide a cargo container and cover system that will securely contain cargo items in a vehicle cargo area, that conceals cargo from view in the cargo area, that is quickly and easily removable from the vehicle, and that can be used to manually transport the cargo items outside the vehicle. There is also a need for a such portable cargo container and cover system that allows access to cargo stowed in the container portion without unattaching the cover portion from the cargo area.